Spring Signs

 Our 19" of snow that fell February 12-13 began melting over the weekend.  By Thursday, February 20, it was mostly gone with only a few patches left. 

On the way back from a meeting in town today, I saw a large flock of mostly red-winged blackbirds along Walker Creek.  Back home, I was delighted to see a couple of crocuses blooming. 

 These are always the first to come up because they are right over the septic tank, a spot that is a little warmer than the rest of the soil in the yard.

 I sat in this cedar bench which we have had for a least 25 years.  I have never stained it so lichens grow on it.

 I guess it is eating away at the wood but I don't want to remove it.

 Here's a little garden of lichens.  I am not sure what the red is?

My wildlife camera did not take any photos of the snowstorm but this one yesterday is intriguing.  It looks like a turkey from the tail feathers.   Next time, I will position the camera right on the waterfall so as not to miss this shot.

Maybe I will hear the spring peepers tonight!

Crocus Bees, Bats and Insect Mysteries

Honey Bee in Snow Crocus February 23, 2011

It is a chilly and rainy day in the Appalachians with temperatures in the 40s. Still, it has been unseasonably warm and dry. The rain is welcome as the fire danger has been very high with over 4000 wild fires reported in Virginia.

The honey bees have been foraging pollen in the past week. They get a little pollen from the few crocuses I have been blooming. From what I learned from local beekeepers, they are also foraging on willow and alder which generally grows near waterways--over a mile away.


Honey Bee on Yellow Crocus February 23, 2011

This yellow crocus bloomed yesterday while the snow crocuses pictured at the top have been blooming for a week. Now that I know bees like crocuses, I will buy a bunch next fall. I don't want them to have to fly a mile away to the willows if they can forage right near their hive.


Hive Inspection--journal entry
February 17, 2011

I inspected the beehive last Thursday (I noticed my journal date was wrong!)--first time since last fall. My main task was to see if they had enough winter stores of honey. They appeared to have plenty--many frames still uneaten. There was some pollen stores but since I have been seeing them bring in pollen, that might be alright. I did a varroa mite check--leaving the mite board in for a week and only saw a couple of mites so that's good. I did not see any signs of other problems like nosema. It's hard to estimate the number of bees but it's over 10,000. That should be alright if the queen has been laying eggs.

I did find the queen in the second box because she is still marked from my mentor last summer. She might have been laying eggs but I wasn't about to brush away bees to see. I carefully put that frame back into the box. I just lifted the bottom box (light probably no honey but with lots of bees) and put the whole hive back together.

Back at the house, I wrote notes in my journal right away. The journal page you see above is very different from what some beekeepers do. It is not super detailed but it has enough information for me. I also am very visual so drawing the hive components lets me put notes right where I found something to note. Doing my notes afterwards allows for a quick inspection, probably no more than 20 minutes.



Dutch iris bloomed yesterday for the first time. These little bulbs only last a few days but are appreciated because they bloom so early when a week of warm weather comes around.

Bat Mystery

As I was walking in the woods, I saw a bat fly very low from the direction of our house into the woods. This is way too early for bats to come out of hibernation. I have learned that the fungus (another nosema) that is killing the bats in the east makes them come early out of hibernation and the bats perish from starvation. I hope that bat I saw doesn't die.


Insect Mystery



What is this growth on this small American Beech tree?


It's about 5 inches long and papery with something inside. I think it is some type of pupae that is overwintering. Does anyone have any ideas?



My cat, Sophie, loves to walk in the woods with me where she can climb up as high as she can get.

With days like these, spring cannot be far behind!